Breaking Ewwws: NBC Is Reviving Fear Factor

Paging Joe Rogan… or not. On the heels of The Voice’s super-success, NBC has decided to revive their infamous gross-out classic, Fear Factor.

Why the reboot after a five-year hiatus? NBC alternative programming boss Paul Teledgy tells EW.com it was the high ratings Factor repeats pull in on NBC Universal’s Chiller channel that sparked the idea. Plus, he says, “You go back and [the show has] stood the test of time. It always had this incredible spectacle to it.”

Telegdy says that while the series’ revivalwill be bigger and better than its first run, “We don’t necessarily need to do the stuff with maximum shock value.” Uh-huh.

No word yet on when Fear Factor 2.0 will launch — or if Rogan will in fact return as the show’s boastful host — but a 2012 bow seems likely.

Thoughts on NBC’s reality reboot? Does Fear Factor still pique your interest? Or has it’s time passed?

Yeah the thing not right is Chuck’s ratings. Are you serious? It’s been given a fifth season and it probably should not have been given a third. Count yourself lucky. I expect Fear Factor will cost them 20% of what Chuck costs and get at least double the ratings.

You know D’Arcy, you’re surely right about FF being cheaper and Chuck being lucky to get as many seasons as it has gotten but – Jayne Cobb is obviously saying that they want to see more of a show they like and less of a show they don’t like (reality tv snobbery aside).

You on the other hand are championing whatever makes the most fiscal sense. If you work for NBC or own GE stocks I guess that’s fine. Otherwise you’re some special kind of chump.

While I would agree, NBC has become the network for lowest common denominator entertainment. They unseated FOX years ago even before the Leno debacle. This is why they suck and why people don’t even know about the good shows they have on: they’re lazy and play it too safe. They weren’t willing to let Conan build a new audience over time the way Leno was allowed to and they put on so much generic, rehashed junk. I say let em sink.

Give it a rest. With a season 5, we have 3 or 4 seasons that would probably have never existed on CBS, ABC, or FOX. And we get a definite, final 13 episodes to end the show on. Are you really not satisfied at this point? As a Chuck fan, I know I am.

Could agree more I’m pretty much allergic to anything reality. Although the voice and amazing race have me a little. Fear Factor is such a entertaining cringe worthy show. Its like an other scripted shoe where you want more.

I kind of enjoyed this show when it was on even though some of the challenges really freaked me out (eating the sea cucumbers, people getting large needles inserted into their arms, the crawling through sewers etc). I might be willing to give it another shot if the challenges aren’t too gross.

i would definetly watch the new fear factor! i loved that show before and was disappointed when it never returned. Now prime time tv is at its highest and could use a show like fear factor. I would love to see joe rogan come back to it. but if he leaves UFC id be upset because I love him in that A LOT! If he does fear factor, he needs to do BOTH! DONT LEAVE UFC JOE ROGAN!! THE FANS LOVE U!

I didn’t like the show all that much back when it was on. It was alright every once in a while. But if they ended it and decided to bring it back maybe a year later, that wouldn’t be as bad. But FIVE YEARS? Why wait that long? It just seems kinda pointless now.

1. So Fear Factor is like Family Guy? “Oh, it gets an audience on some obscure cable channel, so everyone must still like it.” 2. If you’re dumb enough to bring this back, NBComcast, then it has to have Joe as host. He was an integral part of the show’s original success.

joe is great. i listen to his podcast the joe rogan experience.it like hanging out with a couple of real dudes you probably wont ever get to meet.he was great as a host on fear factor. and he is going to only be better now.